Under international law, captured pirates may be prosecuted by any nation. Nevertheless, many countries lack domestic law which conforms to international law, so local courts in several nations have denied that they have jurisdiction over the pirates.  Until the Western nations develop the political will to begin to prosecute these international criminals, we will continue the lose the war on piracy.  In the meanwhile, hundreds of sailors continue to be held captive under horrible conditions by Somali pirates, while offshore the mighty world navies play catch and release.

Catch And Release

In October 2012, the Dutch tall ships the bark Europa and topsail schooner Oosterschelde will again sail the ancient trade routes.  The Oosterschelde will sail from Rotterdam and rendezvous in Capetown with the Europa which will be returning from an Antarctic cruise. Other sailing vessels may be joining the rendezvous including the two mast herring drifter Tecla.  From Capetown they will sail together to Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Fremantle and on to Jakarta. From there they will set a course for Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart.  The ships are looking for voyage crew members to join the ships. Follow the link below for more information. Thanks to Dexter Donham at Sailing Ship Adventures for pointing the expedition out.

Dutch Tall Ships – a Historic Journey

Now that the US Navy is “buying” the “superferries” from Marad, they plan on spending another $35 million to make them suitable for naval operations, making the real cost of the ferries to the taxpayer around $173 million.

The Title XI program has had a troubled history in recent years specifically related to projects involving Hawaii.  In 1999, American Classic Voyages, Co. led by billionaire Sam Zell, launched an ambitious expansion program.  American Classic Voyages had operated two old cruise ships in Hawaii and the river boat Delta Queen on the Mississippi.  The company acquired a cruise ship from Holland America Lines which it brought under the US flag, with Congressional permission to operate in Hawaii. American Classic Voyages also ordered two new cruise ships from Litton Shipyard for the Hawaiian service and acquired two coastal vessels, all supported by Title XI financing.  In a bit more than a year the company collapsed, filing for bankruptcy in October 2001.  Taxpayers paid over $310 million in load guarantees in the debacle.

In 2003, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation investigated Title XI losses and recommened in part, “MARAD should require a rigorous analysis of the risks that arise from modifying loan approval criteria and, to mitigate those risks, should impose compensating provisions on the loan guarantee such as more collateral or higher equity contributions from the borrower.”  One year later, Marad approved loan guarantees to Hawaii Superferry.

Since the 1980s the Title XI program has lost close to $3 billion in multiple loan defaults.

Government agency with a history of taxpayer losses keeps at it

Thanks to Phil Leon for passing along articles used in this post.

National Geographic Hawaii Super Ferry

February 1 -  the Cambodian-flagged ship Vera sank in a storm in the Black Sea after it anchored off the coast of the Turkish town of Eregli. Three members of the 11-person crew were rescued. Eight are missing and presumed dead.

February 2 – the passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen capsized and sank off the coast of Papua New Guinea. 246 were rescued and and at last 100 are missing.  Most are believed to have been trapped when the overloaded ferry capsized in high winds and seas.

February 4 – A home-built boat known as a “yola”, carrying more than 70 illegal immigrants bound for Puerto Rico, sank off the Maria Trinidad Sanchez province on the northeastern coast of  Dominican Republic.  16 bodies have been recovered.  6 people have been hospitalized and an unknown number are still missing.

Let’s hope this week is less deadly.  Thanks to Phil Leon for passing along the article about the Vera.

Top image from 2009 provided by SSR, Bottom image Port Nicholson - www.shippingtimes.co.uk

We recently posted about a press release by Sub Sea Research (SSR) claiming to have located the wreck of a British cargo ship sunk in June 1942 by the German submarine U87. Sub Sea Research claims that the ship was carrying 70 tons of platinum when she sank off the coast of Cape Cod.  SSR says that the ship’s name is the Port Nicholson.

In 2009, Sub Sea Research (SSR) also claimed to have located the wreck of a British cargo ship sunk in June 1942 by the German submarine U87. SSR claimed that the ship was carrying 70 tons of platinum when she sank 40 miles off the coast of Guyana.  The two sets of claims sound remarkably similar, except for the geography of the wrecks.

SSR did not identify the ship from 2009 but used the code-name “Blue Baron.”  SSR also claimed that the also carried ten tons of gold bullion, one and a half tons of industrial diamonds and 16 million carats of gem quality diamonds, in addition to the platinum.

The SSR 2009 announcement of locating the ”Blue Baron” was greeted with definite skepticism. SSR claimed that they had the log-book of the submarine, U87, that sank the ”Blue Baron.”  Historians pointed out that the U87 was not near Guyana in June of 1942. Furthermore, the Shipping Times posted photos of both the Port Nicholson and the reputed “Blue Baron,” which appeared to be identical ships.

Murky treasure ship find raises doubts

It is unclear whether or not the Port Nicholson ever carried the precious metals that SSR claims to be aboard.  The BBC recently quoted Anthony Shusta, an attorney representing the British government, who says that it is unclear if the ship ever carried platinum. “We’re still researching what was on the vessel,” Mr Shusta told the Associated Press news agency. “Our initial research indicated it was mostly machinery and military stores.”

British cast doubt on treasure find

Is the ”Blue Baron” really the Port Nicholson?  Does the “Blue Baron” exist?  And what of the 70 tons of platinum?  Carried on one ship? Two cargoes on two ships? Does it exist at all?

We wish SSR good fortune in all their endeavors. Nevertheless, press releases are not platinum.

The note on the You Tube video reads: 8 tonnes of carbon fibre yacht, a 255 horsepower jet ski, 45 combined years of sailing experience, and one crazy guy in a suit.  Alex Thomson attempts what he calls ‘The Keel Walk’, a stunt that has become infamous throughout the world thanks to the iconic image of Alex ‘riding’ the keel of his 60ft yacht ‘HUGO BOSS’.  Click here for a photo galley of Thomson “Keel Walking.”

Alex Thomson attempts the Keel Walk

Thanks to Phil Leon for passing along the photo gallery.

MOL Summer Photo: Olaf Schmidt

The officers and crew of the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines container ship, MOL Summer, deserve a special commendation for their rescue of 116 people following the capsizing and sinking of the passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen off the coast of Papua New Guinea early Thursday. Eight merchant vessels assisted in the rescue operations.  Of the 246 survivors pulled from the sea, the crew of the MOL Summer rescued almost half.   Quite an accomplishment in high winds and seas for a crew of only 27.  The 38,332-dwt MOL Summer measures 246.8 m and has a maximum container capacity of 3,586 TEU.

Containership Rescues 116 Shipwreck Survivors

Domnica Cemortan, the "Mystery Woman"

If there is a moral of this story, I suppose it must be, “don’t leave your lingerie in the captain’s cabin.”  Not long after the Costa Concordia ran aground and sank off the island of Giglio on January 13th, there were reports of the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, being seen with a “mystery woman.” Described as young and blonde, the reports were variously that the captain was seen drinking with her, having dinner with her and that she was also on the bridge with the captain around the time that the ship ran aground.

The woman’s name is Domnica Cemortan. She is 25 and is from Moldavia. She is a ballet dancer and has worked aboard the Costa Concordia as an “international hostess” whose duties may have included serving as a translator for Russian guests. When the ship sank, however, she was neither working as a member of the crew nor was she listed on the passenger manifest.

She had just completed a six month stint working on the ship and was scheduled to get off prior to the start of the ill-fated seven day cruise. Coast Cruises now says that she bought a ticket and stayed aboard the ship as a passenger but had not checked into her room before the ship struck the rock and sank.

She had denied having a romantic relationship with the 52 year old captain, until her lingerie, other articles of clothing and a make-up bag were found by divers in the captain’s submerged cabin. She has now told Italian prosecutors, ”Yes, it’s true. I am in love with Captain Schettino…”  Italian authorities consider Ms. Cemortan a witness but not a suspect in the criminal investigation of the ship’s sinking.

Captain Schettino, a married father of a 15-year-old daughter, is under house arrest at his home near Sorrento on suspicion of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.

RCCL Allure of the Seas

On Friday morning, a British passenger was seen falling overboard  fell from the balcony of his cruise ship cabin on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship,  the Allure of the Seas, while cruising off the coast of Mexico, near the island of Cozumel.  The Allure of the Seas with a capacity of 5,400 passengers is currently the largest cruise ship in the world.  The passenger, a 30 year old man, is still missing, despite ongoing searches by the Mexican Navy and Coast Guard.  This has been the third recorded case of passengers or crew  lost overboard on cruise ships this year and the second incident on a  Royal Caribbean ship. In 2011, 23 people were reported to have been lost overboard on cruise ships and ferries. Since 2000, 176 are reported to have been lost. Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on the news.

‘This doesn’t mean the ship owners, or even the captains, know what they are carrying. But it is relatively easy for traffickers to hide arms and drugs in among legitimate cargoes,’ says report co-author Hugh Griffiths.

The report also shows that the methods adopted by arms trafficking networks in response to the UN arms embargoes on Iran and North Korea were pioneered by drug traffickers in the past few decades to evade detection. These methods include hiding the goods in sealed shipping containers that claim to carry legitimate items; sending the goods on foreign-owned ships engaged in legitimate trade; and using circuitous routes to make the shipments harder for surveillance operations to track.

‘Containerization has revolutionized international trade, but it also provides ideal cover for traffickers. So many shipping containers pass through the world’s ports every day that only a fraction can be inspected. Ship owners and even customs officers often just have to take it on trust that what’s inside the container is what it says on the cargo documents,’ says Griffiths.

In those cases where the ship owners and/or captains are directly involved in trafficking of drugs or arms, the ships tend to be the older “rust buckets” usually poorly maintained and often sailing under “flags of convenience.”